Abstract
While probiotics have a wide range of beneficial properties, they can also negatively affect the taste or aroma of foods products by resulting in the phenomenon of post-acidification. Ultrasound (US) is a tool to modulate the metabolism of probiotic bacteria, counteracting post-acidification and improving the performance and functional properties of microorganisms without affecting their viability. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the effect of 10 different combinations of power (20 and 40 %) and duration (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 min) of US treatment on two functional strains of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (c16 and c19) isolated from table olives, with the aim of understanding how, some of the main functional and technological traits (viability, acidification, growth profile under different conditions, antibiotic resistance, viability at pH 2.0 and 0.3 % bile salts), were affected. It was found that the effects were strain dependent, and the best results were obtained for strain c19 in the combinations at 20 % for 8 and 10 min and 40 % for 2 min, where an improvement in functional characteristics was found, with some effects on biofilm stability, inhibition of acidification, without adverse results on some technological properties.